Idea plans 4G expansion to nine more circles by next year

Having clinched the spectrum from the last bidding round, Idea has now decided to jump into the 4G LTE segment. At a time when the high-speed wireless broadband segment is being dominated by Reliance Jio, Idea has upped the ante and is expanding its 4G LTE presence in a big way across India.

Idea Cellular is launching its 4G services in nine more circles in 2016-17 and will complete its target of 20 circles. The company now will have a pan-India wireless broadband presence according to a company statement released by the company.

Idea cellular 4G will be encompassing key 20 circles which include UP West, UP East, Mumbai, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Assam, and Jammu & Kashmir and will be contributing 94% of the company revenue and 90% of the industry revenue. The company is planning to widen its broadband footprint across the nation and will be having 57,000 additional sites in 2016, and this will enable the launch of 4G services across nine circles.

The company plans to have a network of 250,000 sites as well as an optical fiber network of network of 1.41 lakh km this financial year. Idea is also investing Rs. 7,500 to 8,000 crore in addition to the Rs. 13,000 crores which it spent to acquire spectrum in recent auctions.

At present, Idea is providing broadband services across 17 circles with over 880 million consumers of which 50% population has been already covered. Idea has big plans and is going to launch “Idea Branded Games” in the forthcoming quarter of the financial year 2016-17. It also has Idea Movies and Music Services in the pipeline for the future. Idea is all set to launch a slew of traditional services like digital magazines and newspaper subscription, video and audio chat, VOIP services and Live TV in the coming year. Idea will be facing stiff competition from Reliance Jio and other service providers in the 4G segment.